


Herzrasen

by Traumatas



Series: Gemeinsam [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Synchronized Heartbeats, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Because my friends wouldn't let me, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No Character Death, Rated M for Magic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 04:56:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15767043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Traumatas/pseuds/Traumatas
Summary: The concept of Soulmates was supposed to be romantic - the synchronized heartbeats even more.Yet, the shared bond between two people could easily lead to worry, pain and desperation in the times of war and battle.Nothing hurt more than the last memory of your fated one being their heavy and fear filled heartbeat, followed by complete silence and emptiness.





	Herzrasen

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the concept of your heartbeat synching with your soulmates once you meet.  
> So whenver your heartbeat picks up, your soulmates does as well; but you can also calm each other down the same way.  
> I always wanted to experiment with that concept, as I haven't seen a lot of Soulmate FFs using this concept.
> 
> Also big thanks @ my boyfriend for giving Leo's horse a name even though he doesn't know shit about FE.  
> Featuring: A pretentious german title

Keeping his heartbeat even and as calm as possibly during the heat of battle was not an easy task. The arrows whistling past his face, the sound of swords clashing, people screaming in pain, the sound of his own spells hitting their target precisely- Even the mere knowledge that he had to keep calm was enough for Leo to feel anxious and stressed. 

Yet, he keeps his heartbeat leveled, not allowing it to accelerate or his breathing to become ragged. His gloved hands tighten around Brynhildr as he casts a spell once again, hitting the target in the chest with a sickly sounding noise of bones breaking, that causes him to flinch and for his heart to skip a beat.    
  
Quickly, he recovers and takes a deep breath, forcing the speed of his beating heart down.    
  


_ For Takumi's sake _ , he keeps telling himself as he does his best to not let the stress of battle get to him. After all, the Archer seemed to be doing a rather good job at that as well, Leo's heartbeat only picking up momentarily from time to time, but never long enough to bother or distract him.   
Having a soulmate during the times of war had never been an easy task at any time within the history of their kingdoms, yet, that didn't make it less troublesome for the both of them. The archer and the mage  were both  crucial forces in their battles, important for the tactics, and they knew Corrin couldn't give them a pass just because their heartbeats had synced.    
  


After all: they weren't the only soulmates in the army. Every pair had their own problems in this very moment, struggling with their heartbeat picking up and mimicking the very pace of their fated one.   
Knowing others along their lines suffered from the same problem was a comfort, but did nothing to ease the burden of battle and having to suppress the worry of your soulmates heartbeat - and inevitably your own - suddenly spiking up, filling you with panic.

 

So when Leo's heart rate increases - so much so that his ribcage feels ready to burst - and wouldn't slow down, no matter how hard he focuses on calming his and Takumi's heartbeat, a downright painful fear settles in his stomach.    
  
His own heart clenches and twists, and in one quick motion he maneuvers Mathias around and hurries in the direction he knows Takumi is in.    
The sound of battle, the fearful screams, the clashing weapons - all feels quiet and distant to him as the rushing in his ears becomes louder than any of his surroundings could ever be. Once he reaches the front of battle his soulmate should be fighting at, another wave of pain and panic courses through him and causes him to curl in on himself with a strangled sound.    
Leo rests a hand on his chest plate, realizing how his heart had started to beat impossibly faster. He was much more aware of it now than before.   
Not wanting to waste another second and ignoring the dreading feeling in his chest, the mage looks up and around, desperately trying to find the silver of Takumi's hair or the striking blue energy radiating of Fujin Yumi. Even just an arrow flying through the air would ease his mind,but he didn’t seem to have that much luck.   
  


Quickly, he realizes his soulmate wasn't where he should be, probably having moved during battle, way too far away from his retainers or any one else.    
Shaking his thoughts away and claiming them a waste of time, he moves further, mercilessly casting spells at enemy's in his way and not sparing their corpses a second glance as they hit the ground.

 

The mage stops once again when the moment lets him, turning Mathias around and snapping his head from one side to the other, looking for anything that could give him the slightest hint to where Takumi might be.

His heart rate hadn't calmed down for even a second and it was hard and troublesome to breath as his throat felt all too tight and the quick pace of his heart was nearly suffocating him.    
Catching a glimpse of the archers sacred weapon in the dirt does nothing to ease his worries, and only fuels the fear. His mind was clouded with thoughts of what could happen to his lover, the only small glimpse of hope being his heartbeat assuring him that he was still alive.   
  
“Damn”, he whispers under his rugged breath, exhaling shakily, when he suddenly hears a cry of pain.   
  
He guides Mathias around, rushing into the direction of the cry. It turns out to be the right decision, as he soon catches sight of enemy forces with their weapons raised.    
  
One of the archers holds their bow firmly, string pulled back aiming at someone that could only be Takumi. His silver hair was dirty and tangled, hanging into his dark face. Even from afar the mage could see his soulmate was in pain, his body tense and hunched over.    
  
When the sight in front of him finally sinks in, Leo - despite being a usually collected person - snaps. His grip around Brynhildr tightens and within a second he casts a spell, successfully throwing the soldiers back.    
One of them hits a nearby tree with full force accompanied by a sickly sound of bones being broken in half, before falling to the dirt lifelessly. The others were luckier, merely hitting the ground further away,  their faces scraped and bloody. Within the blink of an eye the mage sparks another spell to life in his hand, the darkness forming dangerously between his fingers, only waiting to be unleashed.   
Before the soldiers, that were still able to move, could even push themselves up, Leo released the spell.    
The magic was unnecessarily strong, he was aware of that - the thick darkness expanding dangerously after impact, before combusting and pulling the soldiers in, forcing them into unnatural positions almost as if they were compressing before pulling them apart.   
Their agonizing screams died down quickly, accompanied by the noise of their bodies breaking and twisting.    
Leo averted his eyes, not interested in witnessing the gruesome scene.    
  


It's the strangled and pained cough that pulls him out of his almost delirious fury and brings him back.    
His eyes fall on Takumi once again and his heart leaps within his chest, only to immediately resume to it's rapid pace right after. Yet, it doesn't feel as heavy, the relief of finding his soulmate alive pairing with the coursing emotions inside his chest. Sadly, that didn't ease his worry about the others well being completely and in mere seconds he swung himself off of Mathias. Once he reached Takumi, he falls down next to him, his knees hitting the blood soaked ground.    
  
"Takumi.", he says with desperation behind his voice and his hands place themselves on the archers scarily pale cheeks almost immediately to force him to look up. Seeing the expression on his soulmates face and the blood running down his temple, is enough for Leo's chest to tighten painfully and he has to remind himself to control his heartbeat for Takumi's sake.   
  
"Leo. I-"   
  
The mage interrupts almost harshly, "Don't talk. It - it will be alright. I promise."   
  
He licks over his lips and even if he can't feel the blood through his gloves, he can see it and not giving in to his worry and panic was becoming harder.    
  
Without wasting another moment, he moves his arms underneath Takumi's, carefully hoisting him up. The flinch he receives and the way the archer was clutching to his middle, causing him to slow down his movements.   
  
He focuses on calming his heartbeat instead - to help his soulmate more than himself.

  
"It's going to be alright. Sakura and Elise will fix- I got you. Just breathe for me, Takumi."

 

-

  
It’s late in the night, the sun already having set long ago, when Leo escorts Takumi back to their shared tent. His now ungloved hand resting on the archers hips, still steadying him as his wounds could not be completely healed by either of their sisters and would feel sore as well as painful for the time being.   
Ever since they had left the two girls and made their way back to privacy, Takumi had been quiet and it would have worried the mage if it wasn’t for his calm and steady heartbeat.   
  
Soon enough they reach their destination and Leo carefully lights up a candle with the flame in his hand before extinguishing it, leaving the tent dimly lit. Slowly, he turns to look at his soulmate, who was already sitting down on their bed as proper as his wounds would let him.   
He still hadn’t spoken a single word, deciding instead to stay silent, while the mage sits down next to him, close enough for their shoulders to touch.   
It didn’t take long for Takumi to rest his head on his shoulder and Leo could feel a sudden pull at his heart, almost like regret or shame and he wasn’t quite sure if it was his or his soulmates ache.   
  
“I was - I was scared, Leo.”, Takumi begins and his voice filled with agony, that makes the mages chest feel heavy and it takes him all he has not to immediately comfort the other. He merely settles for mending his quickening heartbeat with his own, trying to keep him calm. “I thought I was going to die, but - I’m not quite - I’m not sure if it were my own feelings or yours.”  
  
“Takumi…”, Leo whispers voice a little hoarse. Gently, he wraps his arms around the archers strong shoulders, pulling him close. “You’re safe now. I won’t ever let something like this happen to you again.”  
  
Despite himself, there’s a harsh tone behind his words; something akin to anger directed towards himself as he watches Takumi, taking in his wounds and exhausted expression.   
He hates seeing him like this.   
  
In response he earns a sigh and his lover shakes his head, tearing his eyes away from where he was staring to look at Leo instead.  
  
“No. I should have- I should have kept calm for your sake. If I hadn’t lost composure nothing- I wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place!”, he says, the guilt almost dripping of every single word and his beautiful amber eyes were filling with tears. Both their hearts seem to stop for a second, before they pick up once again. “We are in war, Leo. I can’t- They could have easily taken me out. They would have if- if you hadn’t been close and- and if i had died you would’ve been-”  
  
At that Takumi is cut off by a sob and Leo can feel the agonizing pull at his heart, the pace becoming more and more painful, worrying him. He pulls the archer closer. It takes him a few moments to defeat the lump in his throat.  
His hand is rubbing slow and comforting circles into Takumi’s back in an attempt to calm him ever so slightly.   
  
“Don’t. This isn’t your fault.”, he claims as he moves one of his hands away from the others shoulder, just to place it directly over his heart. He’s careful of the wounds, not wanting to add too much pressure. “If your heartbeat hadn’t picked up- what if I had been too late? I wouldn’t have know, Takumi- this-”, Leo stops, taking a deep breath, noticing how heavy and fast his - and undeniably Takumi’s - were getting. “But you’re alright. You’re here and- and safe. You are safe.”  
  
He doesn’t know what to add, simply quieting down as he allows his soulmate to lean against his chest. Soon enough he can feel Takumi’s tears seep through his shirt and the sobs coursing through his body feel wrong underneath Leo’s fingers. Yet,he doesn’t say anything else, only listening to their heartbeat and concentrating on the feeling of his soulmate against him.  
It takes time, the candle on the stand burning lower and lower, but at one point the tears stop and their heart rate calms down, returning to a natural and slow rhythm. Quietly, Leo calls out for Takumi, nothing but softness and adoration in his voice, but realizes the archer in his arms had fallen asleep due to his exhaustion.   
He sighs.  
  
As carefully as possible, he lays them down, making sure the other wouldn’t be bothered by his injuries at night, before covering them with a blanket. Pushing Takumi’s bangs out of his face, Leo leans forward, pressing his lips against the sun kissed skin.  
  
In that very moment Leo’s heart leaps and he makes a promise.  
  
A promise to himself to never let anything happen to Takumi again.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun Fact: I love reviews and kudos <:  
> Especially since I'm unsure if anyone is actually interested in this concept.


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